Nico Roseberg the quickest in practice in Abu Dhabi

Nico Rosberg claimed the spoils in the final Formula One practice session of the year after he topped the timesheets in Abu Dhabi.

Nico Roseberg the quickest in practice in Abu Dhabi

Nico Rosberg claimed the spoils in the final Formula One practice session of the year after he topped the timesheets in Abu Dhabi.

The German, who is bidding to secure his sixth consecutive pole position and third victory on the bounce, edged out Lewis Hamilton by 0.281 seconds at the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.

Rosberg is running an older engine than his Mercedes team-mate at the final round of the championship and feared a lack of power will make life difficult for him this weekend.

But after ending Friday’s second session ahead of Hamilton, Rosberg followed that up by going quickest in final practice.

Hamilton, who sealed his third championship in October’s United States Grand Prix, is without a pole in six races and has finished second behind his team-mate at the last two rounds in Mexico and Brazil.

And his final practice session of the year was far from incident-free on Saturday, firstly spinning at turn five before later coming close to running into the back of Rosberg.

Sebastian Vettel, who also spun in the windy conditions, was third in his Ferrari, 0.329 seconds down on Rosberg with Sergio Perez an impressive fourth for Force India.

It was reported that Niki Lauda, integral to Hamilton joining Mercedes in 2013, may be on the brink of quitting the Silver Arrows at the end of the season following a difference in opinions with Toto Wolff.

But in an apparent act of defiance, Wolff and Lauda were pictured arriving in the Abu Dhabi paddock on Saturday morning hand-in-hand.

Back on track, Kimi Raikkonen was fifth for Ferrari in final practice ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg, the Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso. Jenson Button was 11th for McLaren.

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